Posted by orrinj at
8:11 PM90-10 NATION:
Only 13 percent of Americans would support the US military joining Saudi Arabia in a conflict as part of a response to a recent attack on two major Saudi oil fields, a new Insider poll of US adults shows.
Only the Right loves the Salafi.
Posted by orrinj at
6:17 PMWELCOME BACK, BROTHERHOOD:
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters have marched in cities across Egypt to demand the resignation of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Videos posted on social media showed demonstrators chanting "rise up, fear not, Sisi must go" and "the people demand the regime's fall" on Friday.
Protests were reported in the capital Cairo, the second-biggest city of Alexandria and Suez.
Posted by orrinj at
5:55 PMSCRATCH A TRUMPBOT...:
Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis once claimed the "Jewish lobby" controls the GOP and that Republican members of Congress have "dual loyalties" to the United States and Israel.
Posted by orrinj at
4:00 AMSO MUCH WAFFLING!:
Speaking to a Fox News reporter near the Mexican border on Wednesday, President Trump seemed taken aback when asked if the White House was preparing to roll out gun control proposals the next day, a timeline administration officials had suggested was likely. [...]
[I]dling in neutral is not something the president is doing only on guns. In discussions with his staff, Mr. Trump has made clear he wants to accomplish something big, but seems stymied as to what it might be, according to interviews with a half-dozen aides and advisers. In the meantime, he has remained on the sidelines as divisive issues are debated and is treading water even on possible staff changes he wants to make, for fear of how things "play."
On the international stage, Mr. Trump has seemed most conflicted about how to respond to Iran's attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, threatening to order "the ultimate option" one moment, and then warning that getting involved in Middle East wars was a mistake the next.
And the lack of direction is apparent even in the message he delivers at his campaign rallies. With little in the way of policy proposals or a larger vision, he has been telling crowds from New Hampshire to South Carolina, "You have no choice but to vote for me," and has been promoting his new slogan, "Keep America Great."
On guns, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has made it clear he will not take any action until the White House does. "If the president is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it, it will become law, I'll put it on the floor," he said this month.
For Mr. Trump, who has been under pressure to act but appears to be aware that any decision he makes comes loaded with its own political risk, part of the holdup is division within his own administration.
The two saving graces of his presidency are that he's done nearly nothing and what he has done is opposed by 60-80% of the American people now.
Posted by orrinj at
12:00 AMALL COMEDY IS CONSERVATIVE:
"If he really claims ignorance, then he was living in some strange sheltered world," said Ladonna James, a brand and marketing executive in Toronto. "Because otherwise, you cannot claim ignorance on that. He's an educator. And his father was the prime minister, who was loved by immigrants."
Trudeau's dress sense has landed him in trouble before while in office. He and his family wore a number of elaborate outfits during a 2018 official trip to India, sparking widespread scorn from critics who said he went over the top.
Liberal insiders say part of the issue is that Trudeau - who used to throw himself down stairs as a party trick when younger - does not always think twice before he tries to be funny.
"Before he does a public event, his team tells him: 'Don't make jokes,'" said one well-placed Liberal.
The prime minister himself acknowledged the issue last year after he interrupted a woman who used the word "mankind," saying he preferred "peoplekind" instead.
"I don't necessarily have the best of track records on jokes. ... I shouldn't be making jokes even when I think they're funny," he told reporters after days of mockery.
Posted by orrinj at
12:00 AMA PEOPLE WHO THINK THEMSELVES A NATION ARE ONE:
Yemen's Houthi group said on Wednesday it had identified dozens of sites in the United Arab Emirates as possible targets, in an attempt to underscore its military clout following a weekend attack it claims to have carried out on Saudi oil facilities.
"To the Emirati regime we say only one operation (of ours) would cost you dearly," Yahya Saria, the military spokesman for the Iran-aligned movement, said in a televised speech.
"Today and for the first time we announce that we have dozens of targets within our range in the UAE, some are in Abu Dhabi and can be attacked at any time."
He said the Houthis have new drones, powered by "normal and jet engines" that can reach targets deep in Saudi Arabia.
Tamp 'em up solid.
